Financial Advisor Success Podcast - Full Episode Archives

#FASuccess Ep 077: Creating A Partnership Constitution To Formalize Decision-Making For A Multi-Partner Advisory Firm with Tanya Rapacz

June 19, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 77th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Tanya Rapacz. Tanya is the co-founder of the Partnership Resource, a consulting firm that works with financial advisors partnerships to ensure that the partnership itself actually works, from formation, to the ongoing operation of the business, to succession planning.

What's unique about Tanya, though, is that before she was trained in dispute resolution and mediation, she was a financial advisor herself, who both worked successfully in a partnership, and went through a partnership merger that didn't work out, as she experienced first-hand what happens when the multiple partners of a partnership each want to take the business in opposite directions.

In this episode, we talk in depth about what it takes for a successful partnership to work, why it's necessary to treat a business partnership like a marriage (anticipating that some level of conflict is inevitable, and the key to long-term success is your ability to align on your goals and work through the conflict together), why multi-advisor partnerships with 3 to 5 partners tend to be the unhappiest (because of those challenging interpersonal partnership dynamics when the number of partners increases), how the largest advisory firms often have the most stable partnerships simply because they end out creating governance structures that facilitate the multi-partner decision-making process, but why any partnership may benefit from taking the time to create an agreement on how the partnership will make decisions in order to reduce their level of conflict.

We also talk about Tanya's own process working with partners, that starts with a series of personality assessment profiles to help current or future partners understand how to better communicate with each other, and the driving forces that motivate each other, the benefits of having a facilitator to help new partners talk through how key decisions will be made as partners and avoid reaching "easy agreements" that gloss over the challenging decisions like "which financial planning software will we use" that can tear a new financial advisor partnership apart, and how Tanya's partnership process culminates in an actual "Partnership Constitution" document, that formally spells out for all the partners how decisions will be made collectively going forward.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Tanya talks about how she's now beginning to scale up her "partnership compatibility reports" and assessment process with RIA Match, in addition to doing more facilitation with advisors directly as more and more advisory firms begin to form partnerships and merge to gain economies of scale in today's competitive environment.

So whether you are interested in learning more about how to manage relationship dynamics while working in a partnership, how personality assessments can help partners communicate better, or learning how you can form your own "Partnership Constitution" document to formalize decision-making, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 076: Why Financial Therapy Beats Financial Advice To Help Clients Change Their Behavior with Kristy Archuleta

June 12, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 76th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Kristy Archuleta. Kristy is an Associate Professor in the financial planning program at Kansas State University, with a focus on teaching advisors how to actually change their clients' behaviors for the better.

What's unique about Kristy, though, is that she's also a licensed marriage and family therapist, and comes to the world of financial planning and how to help clients improve their financial behaviors with the perspective of a trained psychologist.

In this episode, we talk in depth about Kristy's work at the intersection of financial planning and financial therapy, how a financial therapist would view common financial planning challenges from a different perspective with different solutions, the way that therapists approach helping clients to change their behavior by recognizing that clients are the best experts in their own lives, and why according to the best practices research of therapists themselves, what financial advisors typically do – give advice with a comprehensive list of recommendations to their clients about how to improve their financial lives – is actually not a good way to get them to change their financial behaviors for the better.

We also talk about Kristy's work in helping to co-found the Financial Therapy Association, the development of a new Certified Financial Therapist (or "CFT") program they're developing, why Kristy anticipates that financial therapy will eventually become a specialization path for financial planners... and where the line should still be drawn between the end of what advisors can do by providing financial therapy, and when it may still be necessary to involve a fully licensed mental health professional on the client's behalf.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Kristy talks about her own upcoming transition, from teaching financial planning and financial therapy at Kansas State University, to joining the financial planning program at the University of Georgia, to hopefully help them build more insights from financial therapy into their core financial planning curriculum as well.

So whether you are interested in learning more about the intersection between financial planning and financial therapy, how financial therapy can help clients improve their financial behaviors, or how financial therapists can become certified through programs such as the CFT, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 075: Walking Away From RIA Partnership To Scratch Your Own Entrepreneurial Itch with Kathy Longo

June 5, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 75th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Kathy Longo. Kathy is the President and Founder of Flourish Wealth Management, a wealth management firm in the Minneapolis area that oversees nearly $130M of assets under management for 61 affluent clients.

What's unique about Kathy, though, is that she had already successfully climbed the partnership track ladder at a billion dollar independent RIA, to become one of their "next generation" successor owners, yet ultimately decided to sell her shares and walk away from that business to start a new one in order to scratch her entrepreneurial itch.

In this episode, we talk in depth about how Kathy has structured and built the staffing of her firm, launching initially by using a third-party TAMP provider, then transitioning to do the investment management internally as the firm grew by having her husband take over as the Director of Investments, the "culture snapshot" document she created to screen potential new employees to ensure they're likely a good fit, and why it's so crucial as a small business owner to embrace the philosophy of "slow to hire, fast to fire" with new employees.

We also talk about the value of having a study or mastermind group, why Kathy decided to join two different study groups - one that is comprised of all women financial planners in the industry from the Minneapolis area, and the other that is comprised of all women business owners outside the industry through the Women's Presidents Organization or WPO, and why having a study group of peers and colleagues you can commiserate with and get advice from is so essential to running your advisory business... especially when you're launching a firm and hit the inevitable challenges and emotional rollercoaster that comes with building your business from scratch.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Kathy talks about why she decided to write a book to further propel the growth of her advisory firm, and why and how she decided to invest in hiring an outside firm to help with the writing and book creation process.

So whether you are interested in figuring out how to structure the investment management component of a financial planning firm, how to create a strong culture for growing your team, or are wondering about the benefits of participating in a study group, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 074: Why Solo Financial Advisor Success Is All About Self-Confidence In Your Own Value with Diane MacPhee

May 29, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 74th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Diane MacPhee. Diane is the founder of DMAC Consulting, a financial advisor coaching and practice management consulting firm that specializes in solo and emerging ensemble advisory firms.

What's unique about Diane, though, is that before she was a coach for financial advisors, she was a fee-only financial planner herself for 16 years, and as a result brings a unique perspective with both the experience of a financial advisor and the training of being a professional certified coach.

In this episode, we talk in depth about the challenges of being a successful solo financial advisor, the self-limiting beliefs we sometimes inflict on ourselves that prevents us from growing and being as successful as we could be, why it's so hard to set the "right" fee for clients (and especially to raise fees when we should), and why the #1 element to success as an advisor is to really find and get control of your own self-confidence, so you can confidently articulate your value to clients and prospects.

We also talk about strategies to break through when you hit "The Wall" in your practice – that point where you're at capacity with the number of clients you serve, and you can start to feel tired, or overwhelmed, or outright drowning in your own practice – and why eventually, the key to continued success is not about figuring out how to hire more staff or use technology more efficiently or new marketing ideas to grow and add more clients, but how to transition to the right clients for you... even if that means it's time for an "amicable termination" from some of your existing clients.

And be certain to listen to the end, where we talk about the key transition to make if you do want to grow into an ensemble practice beyond yourself... which is all about hiring people you can trust, and learning to let go and not be the bottleneck in your own advisory firm. Which, unfortunately, is much easier said than done.

So whether you are interested in learning more about the challenges of being a successful solo financial advisor, are interested in how to identify the right clients for you, or are wondering how you can build a true ensemble firm that extends beyond yourself, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 073: Why Successful Advisor Marketing Is More About Staffing Than Spending with Sheri Fitts

May 22, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 73rd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Sheri Fitts. Sheri is the founder of ShoeFitts, a marketing consulting firm for financial advisors, and is the Chief Marketing Officer for Sheridan Road, a Chicago-area advisory firm that works primarily with qualified plans and has nearly $13 billion of assets under management.

What's unique about Sheri, though, is her particular focus on how to craft "unforgettable" marketing strategies to really differentiate yourself... right down to the fact that, as the founder of ShoeFitts marketing, she gives away colorful socks as a gift. Because it's unique. And that makes it hard to forget.

In this episode, we talk in depth about how to leverage and maximize marketing ideas, from the importance of trying to craft your own memorable and distinct marketing initiatives, why it's crucial to align the marketing of the firm with the kind of business you want to grow towards in the future, the importance of systematizing your marketing processes so that you can measure and refine them, and why it's so important to have a staff member who is formally responsible for marketing in your firm, even if that means 75% of your "marketing costs" are actually staffing costs, and only 25% of the budget actually goes to a traditional spend on marketing itself.

We also talk about Sheri's own path as a marketing consulting, how she decided to make the leap from a traditional corporate job to going out on her own as an independent consultant because she didn't want to be buried in managing people, the ironic challenge she faced when her independent consulting firm grew so quickly that she once again found herself in the position of managing people, and how she restructured her firm yet again to allow her to focus her time on the tasks she enjoys the most. Which I think has parallels for most of us as advisors, too.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Sheri provides her own perspective on the fundamental difference between sales and marketing, and why advisory firms need to cultivate both in order to succeed.

So whether you are interested in learning how to craft an unforgettable marketing strategy, what you can do to systematize your marketing process so that it can be measured and refined, or are wondering how you can best structure your firm so that you can focus on the tasks that you want to, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 072: The Financial Mechanics Of Buying Into An Advisory Firm And RIA Valuation Trends with David DeVoe

May 15, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 72nd episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is David DeVoe. Dave is the founder of DeVoe and Company, a practice management consulting firm for RIAs with a focus on business valuations, succession planning, and facilitating mergers and acquisitions of advisory firms.

What's unique about Dave, though, is the deep history that he has in consulting on and tracking trends in advisory firm mergers and acquisitions, and the valuation of advisory firms, both previously at Charles Schwab where he led Schwab Advisor Services' Mergers and Acquisitions program, and now as an independent consultant who runs one of the industry's leading "Deal Book" tracking studies on financial advisor M&A activity.

In this episode, we talk in depth about current trends in the valuation of advisory firms, the flaws in the traditional "2X revenue" valuation estimate for a firm (and why it can actually vary as low as just 1 times revenue or as high as nearly 3X), why focusing on profits and a multiple of free cash flow leads to better valuations than looking at revenue alone, the Growth, Profitability, and Risk factors that impact the valuation multiple for an advisory firm, and how in the end an advisory firm is still, like any business, priced based on the present value of future cash flows, and thus why Dave's firm takes a discounted cash flow model approach to providing accurate advisory firm valuations.

We also talk about the mechanics of advisory firm deals from the buyer's perspective, why deals were historically transacted primarily with seller financing, how the rise of third-party bank financing is changing the actual terms and even the valuation of a firm, and why arguably the most important factor in determining the affordability of a purchase is not actually the price of the firm, or the interest rate charged on the note, but the number of years over which the payments are financed that determines whether the buyer has some skin in the game, or if the profits of the firm can actually fully finance the purchase with no ongoing out of pocket cash.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Dave shares his perspective on the buyer and seller trends in the industry, why he sees it as both a "buyer's market" and a "seller's market" right now, and why he thinks the greatest risk to valuations is the danger that too many firms try to sell at once... not because there isn't enough capital to fund all the purchases, but simply because there are still too few buyers for them all to be able to collectively handle the operational challenges of implementing so many mergers and acquisitions at once!

So whether you are interested in learning how to best value your own firm, what you should consider when deciding to purchase into or acquire another firm, or are simply interested in the general market dynamics in a continually evolving market for mergers and acquisitions of advisory firms, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 071: Appointing A Chief Planning Officer To Ensure Firm-Wide Consistency In Financial Planning Advice with Peggy Ruhlin

May 8, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 71st episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Peggy Ruhlin. Peggy is a partner and the CEO of Budros, Ruhlin, and Roe, a wealth management firm in Columbus, Ohio that oversees nearly $2.5 billion of assets under management for nearly 700 affluent clients.

What's unique about Peggy and her firm, though, is the way that they have focused on systematizing the financial planning recommendations they make within the firm, to ensure that every client in the firm truly receives consistent advice and a consistent planning experience across the firm's five planning teams.

In this episode, we discuss in depth the firm's approach to making their financial planning more consistent, including regular "collaborative studies" meetings one Monday a month, peer-to-peer presentations on a quarterly basis to review unique planning cases, a bi-weekly financial planning committee meeting to discuss what the firm's standard recommendations will be on various planning issues, creating a "Wealth Management Resource" library to catalog them, and appointing a "Chief Planning Officer" to be responsible for it all, just as the firm has a Chief Investment Officer to do the same in standardizing the firm's investment process!

We also talk about the evolution of how Budros, Ruhlin, and Roe has done business with clients over the past 30 years that Peggy has been there, from starting out as a financial-planning-only firm back in the 1980s (when it was not very common to do so!), the combination of net worth and income fees they used in their early years, why the firm ultimately shifted to add in investment management services and adopt the AUM model, and how they currently offer clients a choice between investment management only for a percentage of assets under management, or a comprehensive wealth management relationship for a percentage of their total net worth under advisement.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Peggy shares her own career path, from starting out as a CPA who decided to earn her CFP marks to make a shift from historically-focused accounting and tax compliance to forward-looking financial planning, why she's been an active volunteer over the years with organizations from the IAFP to the Foundation for Financial Planning and now the CFP Board's Board of Directors, and why she says that volunteering in professional organizations in her early years was more instrumental than anything else she did to advance her own career!

So whether you are interested in learning how a Chief Planning Officer can help ensure firm-wide consistency in financial planning, why a firm which set out to be financial planning only added in investment management services as well, or how volunteering in professional organizations can advance your career, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 070: Taking Leaps Of Faith As An Introverted Career Changer To Build A Successful Advisory Firm with Sue Stevens

May 1, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 70th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Sue Stevens. Sue is the founder of Stevens Wealth Management, an advisory firm in the Chicago area that serves 150 clients with nearly $350 million in assets under management.

What's unique about Sue, though, has been her ability to take "leaps of faith" in making several major shifts in her career, both in the decision to launch her own advisory firm, to create her own job opportunities at major companies like Vanguard and Morningstar... and her decision to enter the financial services industry in the first place and eventually get her MBA and become a CPA, a CFA, and a CFP professional, after spending her 20s as a freelance and professional cellist who played in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra!

In this episode, we talk about the leaps of faith that entrepreneurial financial advisors have to take, why even as such an entrepreneurial person Sue still took an entry-level job and worked for years in a lower-paying apprenticeship position when she started her career, why building your own self-confidence is such an ingredient for success as a financial advisor, and why managing your own personal finances is also a crucial ingredient for success as a financial advisor and an entrepreneur who sometimes has to take leaps of faith.

We also talk about Sue's own advisory firm, including how she cultivated clients over time as an introvert through writing on Morningstar.com, why she started out with a flat-fee retainer model but eventually switched to the AUM model, the annual strategic planning process she uses to keep the business on track, how she leverages the Strategic Coach framework of having free days, focus days, and buffer days, and why all of the employees in her firm are women (even though she didn't set out to hire an all-female staff).

And be certain to listen to the end, where Sue talks about the process she went through to craft her own dream job description as the owner of the advisory firm... and why that ultimately led her to decide to sell her firm to a much larger one, not so that she could retire, but so that she could regain the freedom to focus her energy where she wants to, both inside and outside the business.

So whether you are interested in learning more about taking a leap of faith as a career changer, why an advisor who set out to run a flat-fee retainer model switched to AUM, or how you can craft your own dream job description as an advisory firm owner, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 069: Interrupting The Pattern With The Philosophy That Each Client Is The Only Client with Barry Glassman

April 24, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 69th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Barry Glassman. Barry is the founder and president of Glassman Wealth, a wealth management firm in the Washington DC area that serves 250 affluent families and has grown to nearly $1.2 billion in AUM in barely 10 years since Barry broke away from his former hybrid broker-dealer firm.

What's unique about Barry, though, is the amount of time and energy he spends focusing on building his advisory business as a business, including why, even though he's been nominated to most of the industry's "Top Advisor" lists, he's most proud of the purposeful culture that's allowed Glassman Wealth to win a local Washingtonian "Best Places to Work" award.

In this episode, we talk about Barry's approach to differentiating his firm by doing what he calls "interrupting the pattern" from what clients and prospects are typically used to, which includes his website home page that leads with the message "It's not about pie charts" and even lists some of the competing firms he refers prospects out to, how he records a quick personal video for every prospect before he meets with them, why he doesn't give out gifts with the firm's logo, and how he differentiates himself in his relationship with attorneys, accountants, and other centers of influence by engaging them more proactively than the pattern they're used to with most other advisors.

We also talk about Barry's unique philosophy in deciding how to service his clients and connect with prospects in the first place, where he starts with the mental exercise of pretending they're the only client or prospect the firm will meet with all year, figures out what that client would want and expect, and then working backwards to figure out what the firm can systematically execute on and deliver, using technology to help personalize the experience, for each and every client of the firm's 250 affluent clients.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Barry talks about where he goes to get inspiration as an entrepreneurial business owner, why he doesn’t go to more than one financial advisor conference every year, and why he thinks it's so important for advisors to look outside the industry for real perspective on entrepreneurship.

So whether you are interested in learning more about growing a firm after breaking away from a broker-dealer, why it is important to "interrupt the pattern" of what your clients and prospects are used to, or how you can differentiate yourself by engaging with centers of influence more proactively than they're used to, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

#FASuccess Ep 068: Becoming A Non-Revenue-Producing Partner In A Multi-Niche Financial “Design” Firm with Heather Fortner

April 17, 2018 07:01 am 0 Comments CATEGORY: Financial Advisor Success Podcast

Welcome, everyone! Welcome to the 68th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!

My guest on today's podcast is Heather Fortner. Heather is a partner and the Chief Operating Officer of Signature FD, an independent RIA that calls itself a "financial design" firm and now serves more than $3 billion of AUM for nearly 1,000 clients.

What's unique about Heather's firm, though, is not just the nature of its holistic "financial design" process that aims to help clients with all their types of wealth – both money, time, and relationships – but serves its clients by organizing the firm and its advisory teams into "communities", or what essentially are a series of various niches, all under the Signature FD umbrella, including SignatureLaw, SignatureHealth, SignatureEntrepreneur, and more.

In this episode, we talk in depth about why and how Signature FD transitioned from a broad-based generalist firm into a series of niche communities, the way it has adopted Angie Herbers' "Diamond Teams" structure to grow and develop their advisor talent, the Entrepreneurial Operating System it uses – built from Gino Wickman's book "Traction" – to help ensure that every employee understands how they connect to their department's 1-year goals, the firm's 1-year goals, and the long-term outcome for the firm, and why SignatureFD uses an Industrial Psychologist as a part of the final screening process for everyone the firm hires to help really ensure they're a good long-term fit.

We also talk about Heather's own career track in the firm, from joining as a "client care associate" in the operations team nearly 15 years ago, to becoming the Director of Operations and later the Chief Operating Officer, getting involved in several industry Executive Leadership programs, and eventually making partner in the firm... in a world where it's still relatively rare for such "non-revenue-producing" members of the firm to have an opportunity to become a partner, especially women, despite the value that good executive leadership in operations can create for a firm.

And be certain to listen to the end, where Heather talks about how advisors can identify the "right" firm to stick with in the long run, and the skills that she believes are most important for everyone, but especially women, to develop to climb the career track in an independent advisory firm, and why she believes that the challenges of family dynamics and caring for children may be one of the biggest and most understated issues limiting the career growth of women in independent advisory firms today.

So whether you are interested in learning more about how large firms can serve multiple niche markets, how to best structure teams to grow and develop talent, or are interested in how non-revenue-producing employees can progress to executive leadership positions in an advisory firm, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast!

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#FASuccess Ep 077: Creating A Partnership Constitution To Formalize Decision-Making For A Multi-Partner Advisory Firm with Tanya Rapacz

#FASuccess Ep 076: Why Financial Therapy Beats Financial Advice To Help Clients Change Their Behavior with Kristy Archuleta

#FASuccess Ep 075: Walking Away From RIA Partnership To Scratch Your Own Entrepreneurial Itch with Kathy Longo

#FASuccess Ep 074: Why Solo Financial Advisor Success Is All About Self-Confidence In Your Own Value with Diane MacPhee

#FASuccess Ep 073: Why Successful Advisor Marketing Is More About Staffing Than Spending with Sheri Fitts

#FASuccess Ep 072: The Financial Mechanics Of Buying Into An Advisory Firm And RIA Valuation Trends with David DeVoe

#FASuccess Ep 071: Appointing A Chief Planning Officer To Ensure Firm-Wide Consistency In Financial Planning Advice with Peggy Ruhlin

#FASuccess Ep 070: Taking Leaps Of Faith As An Introverted Career Changer To Build A Successful Advisory Firm with Sue Stevens

#FASuccess Ep 069: Interrupting The Pattern With The Philosophy That Each Client Is The Only Client with Barry Glassman

#FASuccess Ep 068: Becoming A Non-Revenue-Producing Partner In A Multi-Niche Financial “Design” Firm with Heather Fortner

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